The Ibex 35 extends the 1.68% correction from the previous session and records intraday lows below 19,000 points, in a zone not seen for nearly four months. Energy stocks cushion the burden of the banks.
The Ibex 35 has deepened its correction this Thursday, following a 1.68% drop in the previous session. The Spanish index has fallen below the 19,000 points level at intraday lows, a zone it hasn't visited for nearly four months, according to Expansión. Selling pressure has targeted the banks, while energy stocks have helped to cushion the blow.
The banking sector, which carries the most weight in the index, has once again acted as a drag. Tensions in the debt market have intensified profit-taking in Santander and BBVA, the two major heavyweights of the Ibex. CaixaBank, Unicaja, Bankinter, and Sabadell have also traded lower.
Disinvestment has also affected other cyclical stocks, such as steelmakers ArcelorMittal and Acerinox, and companies sensitive to rising oil prices like IAG. On the opposite side, the Ibex has received support from almost the entire energy block. Repsol led the gains by mirroring part of the oil price increase, while Enagás, Naturgy, Iberdrola, and Redeia have been among the most resilient stocks.
The price of crude oil has once again solidified above the psychological barrier of 100 dollars. The price of Brent crude has surged by up to 5%, reaching 105 dollars, driven by the hurricane threatening the Gulf of Mexico and the reduced traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is at its lowest since July 23.
In the debt market, the yield on the ten-year US bond has widened to 5.35%, at a maximum since 2002, following the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes. In Europe, France's risk premium has once again surpassed the threshold of 140 basis points, compared to 125 on Tuesday. The German bund has exceeded 3.50% and the Spanish bond has remained close to 4.20%.
The earnings season has kicked off in Asia with results from Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which have not convinced the market despite their record figures. The Korean company has dropped by 2.4% and the Taiwanese by 1.3%. The South Korean Kospi has lost 2.6%, and on Wall Street, the Nasdaq maintained the doubts from the previous day. In Europe, the French Cac has moved away from 8,000 points, the German Dax has fallen below 25,000 at intraday lows, and the Stoxx 600 has deepened its correction to near 420 points, also in a four-month low zone.
Within the Stoxx 600, banks have fallen on average to three-month lows. Among the most penalised are Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Raiffeisen Bank, KBC, and Société Générale. The setback for technology stocks has affected chip manufacturers such as Soitec, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and ASML. On an individual basis, the Danish Bavarian Nordic has stood out positively thanks to its vaccines, while the Belgian Argenx has plummeted by up to 16% after withdrawing a study on an autoimmune disorder.
The foreign exchange market has also reflected investors' concerns about debts such as the French one and the upward pressures on the dollar generated by the Fed's minutes. The euro has recorded intraday lows below 1.12 dollars, in a 17-month low zone, and the British pound has struggled around 1.32 dollars.
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